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Two years ago, I was asked to participate in a choral reading to raise money for Devorah's Door, a non-profit organization which provides funds for abused women to have their smashed-in doors fixed and their locks changed.

The unusual thing about this reading was that each of the participants read her own poetry. The poetry was interspersed with Taiko drumming (traditional Japanese drums used for performance art and ceremonies).

What was amazing about this performance was not that we each recited or performed our own work, or that we raised a couple of thousand dollars for Devorah's Door. What was amazing was how we raised the consciousness around women's body image, for others as well as ourselves.

The media has for too many years played with the minds and hearts of women around the world. We look at the magazines or TV, videos or in the movies and we see these "perfect" women. Who ever said they were perfect?

I got into creating this blog thanks to one of the faculty members of my concentration in the graduate program I am currently in at UMass Amherst. I knew there was no way I could go to a TESOL conference; it looked interesting; I've taken online classes; love the freedom they allow; and, it was something new.

What I have learned in the past two weeks is phenomenal! Besides creating this blog, I have learned how to use yahoo groups, chat on line in a group conference, chat with individuals around the world, use wiki (well, sort of), posted on Frapper, and keep track of 50 to 100 emails a day! Whew! No wonder I feel tired!

Publicly, I would like to thank the Blogging for Beginners team. What a great job you all have done coordinating all of this. My head spins when I think of the work and effort that had gone into making all of this happen for so many people around our tiny planet!

This leads me to the "spiritual" connection in all this. Just look at…

I admit, I am a dinosaur when it comes to computers. I started back in the day of binary codes, reams of paper and little cards punched full of holes.

The first computer I worked on took up an entire room in the doctor's office I worked in. If we did a 'run' we had to leave it on over night and hope it did crash in the wee hours. I remember thinking it was so fast!

Now, here I am some thirty years later immerged in Blogging for Beginners (B4B)! I feel like Alice and I just fell down the rabbit hole! Technology is wonderful! But, watch out for the Mad Hatter! ("No time! No time!")

Looking at the blogs of other educators, I see how nicely this tool incorporates into a classroom. Obviously it takes lots of work, but what a gift to give our students! I can see blogs in elementary classrooms as a way for students to write and share without feeling the discomfort of standing in front of the class. I can also see it as a great tool for the bilingual student who needs extra…

After living in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I never thought I would be depressed because it hasn't snowed! The lack of white stuff here in New England is so disheartening.

What is it about snow that makes most people feel good? Could it be that the sparkling flakes create a fantasy world in the sunshine or moonlight? Or, is it that the child in us longs to run headlong into a snow drift rolling over, arms waving madly to create a snow angel?

It is gray out at the moment. It feels as if the world is in limbo. Nature isn't dead, but it's not alive and happy either. I have brought spring inside. There are paperwhites and amaryllis growing on my windowsill. They will lift me out of the doldrums once they bloom. Until then, I look for other signs of growth and renewal.

I don't have to look far. My daughter has sent an email with new pictures of my granddaughter attached. Suddenly, my life is filled with sunshine, fantasy, rebirth, re-creation and Light. Nothing fills me w…

NEW BOOK!

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